The Best Fenders For a Bicycle
 

What is the best fenders I can buy for my '84 St 400Cannondale? Planet Bike, VO or something else. :foo:

Just MHO: SKS Raceblade Longrunners or Bluemels. They last so long the manufacturer is bought out and changes the name, so I'm not sure what the equivalent is to what I have.

Planet Bike also is reported to make good fenders.

Metal fenders (Velo Orange, Honjo, or similar) are, IME, darn next to impossible to get on right. But they look classy and work well after you drill another hole or three and buy some extra parts because you cut them too short. If you wanted to be a machinist when you grew up but couldn't find a job, give them a shot.

There are no "best".

I've installed every single kind and make out there. Quality branded fenders do cost more and worth every penny.

My "best" fenders are all-plastic fenders that mount only at the fork (front), and that little area that connects the seat stays (rear).

I like those for commuting because they are flexible as hell and I don't have to worry about them deforming out of place as my bike is rammed thru doorways, trains, subway.

IMO, the "best" fenders for a commuter bike were mounted to the bicycle at the factory, painted to match the frame and delivered to the customer installed and ready to "fend" from the word go and at no extra cost.

No need to "upgrade" or fret about fit or mounting issues.

Was gonna say the "best" fenders are the ones you already own, but your example trumps that.

Berthoud are worth the money and hassle. It's very difficult to mess them up. I'm assuming that a commuter is going to be stored in a rack occasionally.

Going back a few years, it was so cold (one day.) the fender cracked in half when a rock hit it down by the mud flap. Man, cold is tough on almost everything!

The best fenders are the fenders you don't have to install yourself. I have installed VO and SKS longboards. The SKS in particular were not fun....

Ok, but I think the OP will need to invent a time machine to go back 40 years and convince the Cannondale product manager to spec fenders on their ST400. In the meantime, any of the full coverage fenders from Planet Bike or SKS will work well.

Alternative solution would be for the OP to use a time machine to go back to the point in time when he decided to get a bicycle "best equipped" for all weather commuting and buy such a bike; it would have come with fenders already installed. It may have required picking up a used bicycle in the U.S. anytime after about 1980. Or buy such a bike today.

The SKS "Bluemels" are fantastic. VO are great but you need to dedicate a few hours to get everything measured, fabbed up then finally drilled and cut. Honjos are the same way but better than VO. You may go through several sets of PB before any of the above give you problems. This is just my opinion, of course.

sks raceblades and planet bike... are good

I don't have a lot of experience with fenders, just the Planet Bike silver polycarbonate Cascadias on my RockHopper; they're great. I've had them since 2019, and they haven't cracked or broken and they keep my feet and my drivetrain dry. They're also a price I can afford.

Looking at their current offerings, the SpeedEZ look easy to install and remove, and of course there's always clip-ons. I leave mine on year round, but others don't. Show us pics of what you get!

One thing's for sure, old and STEEL is real. Even better is these on a 1973 CCM with SA 3 speed, near the best ever with mounts that can not rattle, when riding at least. The front one could have been an inch longer both ends I suppose.
For bonus points are my fabulous boot flaps. I can ride this thru puddles all day.
Pic also demonstrates the old front 650A/ 590 wheel and new rear 650B. I had to widen the fender profile, EASY with these fenders.

What you DON'T want is cheap alu ones usually accompanied by awful thick round alu struts that wrap around the back causing toe overlap. And the ONE bolt is HORRENDOUS to adjust or stay tight.
I had this alu junk on my new Simcoe. Impossible to add flaps anyway. Chucked it all and used my old fenders from my 1973 Raleigh and 1950ish Rudge. I also had to turn 2.5" bolts into the 1/2" eye bolts, LOL. I nickel plated the struts when I did my DIY stem.
One of the few things I didn't chuck was the seat. LOL.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a87dfed550.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...cf3ea03e4d.jpg

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f50bdc3260.jpg

I got real lucky with the fenders on my tour bike. Stainless steel ones from the late 70s I guess.

I've been using Planet Bike Cascadias on two bikes for the last 13-15 years. One I even drilled and mounted a dynamo taillight to without problems over the last 9 years. Both bikes have survived budget-friendly moves domestically and overseas twice...

They both still look great, including the white ones! PB offers replacement hardware at very reasonable prices, too, even all these years later.

All mounting hrdwr you need includes spacers 4 disc brakes.

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f56e865223.jpg


https://www.axiomgear.com/products/f...eguard-700-41/

I'm not picky about fenders. They're all fine for me. The longer, the better.

I don't like the Planet Bike road width fenders. They are not stiff enough to work with a real flap that actually keeps feet dry and clean most of the time. (Such flaps, when made with a dry feet friendly "U" shape, tend to cause aerodynamic oscillations. Planet Bike made a series of choices that all make the issue worse. A more flexible plastic. Single struts. Removing material at the fork crown to pass the bracket through the fender to the brake bolt! I routinely do things like make additional sheet metal reinforcing pop riveted on at the fork crown and on one bike, ran a tight tie between the front tip of the fender and the end of the stem. Adjust everyth+ing to minimize oscillations, even at the sacrifice of other niceties.

Several of my bike wear the Planet Bike fenders simply because they are one of the few that make really bright ones. Why SKS and others cannot figure out that bikes would be far more visible in the dark winter months of northern latitudes (like SKS's home, Germany) is beyond me. The English had that figured out 50 years ago. Winter training on beater, fendered bikes is a long, long tradition.